CHICAGO – DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell announced today that Thomas Hamilton Jr. has signed a National Letter of Intent and will join the program starting next season. Hamilton is a Chicago native who played three seasons at Whitney Young High School before finishing his prep career at IMG Academy in 2012-13.

The 6-10 center joins the Blue Demons next season after playing a year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He is ranked among the nation’s top 25 2013 centers at No. 21 by Scout.com while ESPN.com ranks Hamilton among the country’s top 30 centers at No. 27.

Hamilton is the fifth signee for next season joining R.J. Curington, Billy Garrett Jr., Forrest Robinson and Greg Sequele. Curington signed his NLI on April 17 and is a 6-5 shooting guard out of Oak Hill Academy. Garrett - ranked among the top 100 players in the country - is a guard from Morgan Park in Chicago while Robinson and Sequele are junior college forwards making their way to Lincoln Park next season.

Hamilton and Garrett also played on the AAU circuit together with the Mac Irvin Fire. His father, Thomas Hamilton, played in 33 games over two seasons in the NBA for Boston and Houston.